


Life companion

by BeastOfTheReach



Series: Bestia's Wrath verse [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate universe - Styrak lives, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26645437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeastOfTheReach/pseuds/BeastOfTheReach
Summary: Styrak lives, returned from the dead by his apprentices, but he is not having a good time. Bestia tries to comfort him. Set in the Bestia's Wrath universe, so Dread Masters live.
Relationships: Dread Master Styrak/Dread Master Bestia, Styrak/Bestia
Series: Bestia's Wrath verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942615
Kudos: 1





	Life companion

This was a long day filled with more events than Bestia could remember in a long time. Styrak, one of the Dread Masters, thought lost and dead, and her husband, suddenly returned to Oricon, filling the bleeding wound in the Force bond that his absence had left. Even though they had found a temporary solution, the new sixth Dread Master was pretty much a kolto patch on a huge open wound. More than that, Bestia had herlife companion back.

There was a feast and a celebration, one that Styrak excused himself from early, as he almost always did. He wasn't one for noisy social gatherings, staying only as long as it was polite and as long as it took him to eat, and then quietly disappearing at the first chance he got. Usually Bestia would find him in his lab, or tending to his Kell dragons, or resting. She wagered it would be the latter this time, as the day was over. 

Bestia didn't find Styrak in their shared bedroom. Puzzled, she reached out to him through the newly healed force bond, and recoiled as a wave of distress hit her, centered on the level below. Bestia squeezed her eyes shut, blinking away the unbidden tears, and then ran out of the room. She made her way down the stairs to Styrak's area of the palace, through the ossuary throne room, the lab, and finally to his own rooms. For probably the first time in her long life, Bestia hesitated to enter, and gave the door a few knocks first. 

There was no response. 

Bestia sighed.

"Love. I know you are in there. Can I come in?"

The door opened on its own, pulled by the Force. Bestia stepped into the dark room, and found Styrak sitting on the edge of his bed, huddled in on himself. It was quite a miracle how a man so big and normally terrifying could look so small and frail. 

Bestia sat a small distance from him, enough to give him space, but still close enough to let him know she was there.

"You are not okay," This wasn't much of a question, more like a statement, based on what Bestia sensed through the Force bond, and the long time they've been together.

Styrak shook his head. This was the first time Bestia had seen him without his mask since he'd returned. Not unusual, Styrak generally didn't like showing his face. Still, he didn't even eat anything earlier. 

It was dark, and his hair obscured most of his face. Still, Bestia noticed some of it missing on the side of his head facing the wall.

Bestia reached for him and put a hand on his shoulder. Styrak tensed immediately, almost flinching away, and Bestia backed away. Distress was rolling off him in waves, but Bestia could sense it wasn't because of her.

"What's wrong?"

Styrak finally looked at her, and she could see the giant scar on the now visible side of his face. It covered about half of it, hair on that side of the head missing in clumps and patches. His right eye has gone milky white. He turned away almost immediately.

"Don't look."

The thought suddenly hit.

"Wait. You're scared that I won't love you because of the scar?"

Styrak made a humming noise and gave a small nod.

"Love, what kind of a life companion would I be, to ever stop loving you over some scars? I've seen worse. We've both seen worse. Scars heal."

Marks will stay with you, Bestia thought, ghost pain going over an ornate network of scars on her upper back, a testament to all of her emperor's attempts to break her will. He failed. Scars healed. Marks stayed. Styrak saw them. Styrak knew where they came from, his rage buried deep in his soul. Bestia was sure he'd be happy to have Vitiate's bones decorating his throne room. She'd help him clean the bones.

"It's not just that. My power is turning on me. All I see is fire."

Styrak sounded haunted at these last few words. Bestia understood. She had seen the fire of his last few moments too. 

"I understand."

Styrak wiped his eyes with a hand, his shoulders sagging with some measure of relief. 

"Thank you. I love you," he managed to rasp, looking at Bestia again.

She smiled at him, and took his hand. 

"There's one thing I do not understand. How did you come back? You're clearly not a Force Ghost…"

"I… don't really know. I think my apprentices pulled me back but I think I've come back changed."

Styrak fell silent, looking at his right hand. Bestia looked too, and noticed it seemed different from his left. Dark scales seemed to cover it, and the fingers ended in sharp talons. 

"I've never seen corruption like this before. I've seen dark side corruption stain people's limbs, but never scales like that. Not even from Dread Seed. I think we should study this. Would you like that?"

The appeal to Styrak's inquisitive nature seemed to work, and he even managed a tiny smile, crooked now because of the scars. Bestia grinned back at him, and reached over to hug him. Styrak accepted the contact this time, leaning into her with a sigh. He felt at peace for the first time since his resurrection, his Dread Master power not threatening to overwhelm him for once. Both of them could feel their bond, the strongest among the dread masters, mend some more. 


End file.
